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GLAAD Hosts Panel and Training at the National Queer People of Color Conference

Over the weekend, GLAAD staff traveled to California State University, Northridge to participate in the 2012 National Queer People of Color Conference (NQPOCC), an annual conference aimed at creating understanding about the diversity within the LGBT community, empowering identities and creating cross-cultural collaborations.

Attended by hundreds of students, community members, advocates and allies, the diverse populations represented at this year's NQPOCC more than echoed the conference theme of "Fourway: Intersection of Race, Gender, Class and Sex[uality]."

GLAAD held two workshops this past weekend. The first, "The Power of Story Telling: Speaking Our Truths to Create Social Change" featured GLAAD media-trained participants Bamby Salcedo, a trans Latina advocate, and Aiden Aizumi, an Asian-American trans advocate and college student whose mother, Marsha Aizumi, has become a visible ally to the LGBT community, and was facilitated by Amita Swadhin, formerly GLAAD’s People of Color Media Fellow. Panelists offered real-world examples of the key role that storytelling plays in changing hearts and minds and the tremendous impact it has on changing culture, as well as its role in making public policy and laws more LGBT-inclusive.

The second workshop, facilitated by GLAAD’s Spanish-Language Media Strategist Brian Pacheco, was a media training session where participants learned the fundamentals of story-telling and also how to utilize their voices as a platform for moving people to support LGBT equality.

GLAAD applauds the organizers of this year's NQPOCC for creating an empowering space for LGBT people of color and their allies. Despite attempts by anti-LGBT organizations to drive wedges between people of color and their LGBT members, this year’s NQPOCC is a beautiful example of communities embracing all identities, and working together to advance LGBT equality.

About GLAAD

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBT acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.more about GLAAD >>